These were the years when the United States, the Soviets and now China made efforts to improve relations. Finding the “arms race” particularly expensive, Russia and the US entered into a period of give and take. And in the spirit of giving, when Nixon made a historic visit to China, the US dropped our objection to China’s presence in the UN, and China appeared on the world stage.
Also in 1972, SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) was signed by Nixon and the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. The agreement restricted the number of ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) of both sides. This was followed closely by the Helsinki Accords (a non-binding agreement) which was signed by 35 countries including the USA and the USSR. This recognized the European borders established after World War Two and gave tacit approval to Soviet control over Eastern Europe.
However, when the Soviets began to update their nuclear arsenal in Eastern Europe in the late 70s, the West responded in kind. But when SALT II was negotiated it gave serious disadvantages to the West in the areas of missiles and heavy bombers—it even counted 230 “mothballed” aircraft to be included under the ceiling. By its overwhelming weight given to the Soviets, the treaty never emerged from Congressional committee. And while Carter said we should live under the intent of the treaty-that-wasn’t, the Soviets made no such commitment. But Carter didn’t stop there.
When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, he outwardly supported the Mujahideen and his CIA clandestinely supported them with weapons and funding. He put forth the Carter Doctrine pledging to use force to stop incursions into the oil rich Middle East states. He also imposed economic sanctions on the Soviets thus in their eyes cratering the wall of semi-cooperation. And his presidency, with domestic and foreign policy failures, was doomed.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan came to town. It begins the period of “King Arthur and the Black Knight.” After assuming office, Reagan announced an increase in defense spending at the same time the Soviet economy was struggling. So when Reagan approved the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) in 1983, the Soviets were out of airspeed and ideas. And in that same year, he also announced he would not follow the previous policies of detente against an “evil empire.” The Black Knight was defeated. And the Grail might be within reach.
In Russia a change had also occurred. Brezhnev was out and Gorbachev was in. And to the delight of the West, he was someone with whom even Margret Thatcher (Great Britain’s Prime Minister—the Iron Lady) thought she could negotiate. He brought in an economy based on competition and incentives to produce. Take that Karl Marx.
However, it was still no match for those in the West so he began cutting spending on nuclear weapons. This led to further negotiations: the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks put a limit on warheads and missiles and the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces talks limited the levels of intermediate range nuclear forces in Europe and Asia. (The INF was finally signed in December 1987 after more than half a decade of negotiations.) Militaristically, the Cold War was about to end.
Thus in 1989, the increased Soviet “laxity” in social and economic programs allowed Eastern Europe to also change. Communist parties in a few vassal states were dropped. Leaders were democratically elected. Borders were opened to the West. Former Republics declared their independence. The Berlin Wall tumbled down. And the greatest result? The USSR was dissolved and in 1991 Russia became a Republic. Also in 1991, nuclear equipped bombers and their associated tankers who President Kennedy had put on a 15-minute ground alert since 1961, were ordered to stand down in September. The Cold War had ended.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: From 1991-1993, I was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Office of Economic Adjustment working to help communities whose bases were selected to close begin the economic development process. In 1992, the office was approached by former Eastern European communities to give them an appraisal of the facilities the Russians had left. Long story short, there was no attempt at environmental cleanup and the electrical grid, the water/sewer system, work areas, living quarters, etc., were reminiscent of the 1950s. No wonder communism failed.
So in the beginning and in the end, what was the Holy Grail? “…(It was) not only to create a tolerable structure of political and economic order, but also to help defend it while under construction from those who still believed that a better world for them could only be obtained through further widespread tearing down.” (Paul Nitze)
I believe that we won the Cold War Grail. But there is still much to do. Still those out there who would destroy rather than build. But that’s a game of a different nature. Wish us luck.
ENDNOTE: Again, this is an abbreviated look at 42 years. I have keyed on the points I considered important, you may have others just as significant. But from where I sat, from the cockpit of 15-minute alert, to the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command in the office of the Director of Operations, to making inputs to NATO’s 1980s war plans, it was quite a ride.
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